That's right—the phone number he had just called belonged to Maya.
Initially, upon returning to the City, Noan intended to reach out to her, but too many things had happened, and he hadn't been able to do so yet.
But now, when he finally tried contacting Maya, it seed she had vanished entirely.
Noan furrowed his brows. He couldn't return to the Academy to inquire about her from the other staff mbers.
In the end, he decided to wait for Malrik first, then head to the hospital to look for her.
After all, earlier, he had arranged for Maya's mother to receive better treatnt, so he clearly knew the hospital where her mother was staying.
A while later, Malrik appeared beside Noan, grinning broadly: "Master, how many points would you give my performance just now?"
Seeing Malrik proudly boasting, Noan imdiately wanted to smash a club against his skull.
"Damn you!" Noan laughed coldly, radiating murderous intent. "When you said 'just ssing around a little,' did you really an sothing like this?"
"Heh?! Heh?!" Malrik jumped, startled by Noan's murderous voice, and hurriedly explained: "Master, calm down a bit… I really was playing around!"
"Think about what you've just done! If anyone investigates carefully, my identity will undoubtedly be exposed!" Noan said, clutching his forehead.
"Master, rest assured," Malrik confidently laughed. "I've already cleaned everything thoroughly. Even if the Academy's Rector or the Royal Guard tries to investigate, they'll find nothing unusual."
"All they'll discover is a sudden attack by an ordinary monster—that's all."
As Malrik spoke, he displayed an air of arrogance, the flas within his eye sockets dancing excitedly.
Noan sighed deeply, temporarily choosing to trust Malrik. After all, Malrik had never disappointed him nor done anything detrintal to him before.
"All right," Noan said. "Next ti, don't create such a big ss. Understood?"
Malrik lowered his head, saying: "Master, I understand clearly. I'll be more careful from now on."
Noan instructed Malrik to hide back in the shadows, then headed toward the hospital.
However, unknown to him, from afar, a strange one-eyed crow was silently watching the entire scene.
After seeing Noan leave, it quickly flew off into the distance, vanishing as though it had never existed.
…
At the hospital, Noan frowned as he watched a nurse searching for information about Maya's mother.
"You said she disappeared soon after arriving?" Noan asked.
The nurse nodded slightly, replying, "Yes. After being transferred here for about a week, she left."
"Are you absolutely certain that's the person I'm looking for?" Noan questioned again.
"Yes," the nurse confidently replied, trusting her mory entirely. "Not just ; everyone here rembers that woman clearly."
"Hm?! Did sothing happen?" Noan asked, anxiety rising in his heart.
"Actually, I'm not entirely sure," the nurse tilted her head, digging through her mories. "After being moved to the patient room here, people ca by every single day demanding debt repaynt."
"The dical staff here tried to handle the situation, even forcibly removing the debt collectors. Although those debt collectors stopped coming after that, the woman insisted on being discharged quickly."
"Since her condition had improved significantly, requiring only dication, the doctor agreed to let her leave. Afterwards, she never returned here."
Noan listened, his eyebrows knitting even more tightly as he asked, "Then what about her daughter?"
"Ah! You an that pretty young girl was her daughter?"
"Hm? What do you an?" Noan asked, confused.
"No, I just felt she might not really be that girl's mother because they frequently argued. In fact, the woman once even physically struck her," the nurse explained. "But after hospital security chased away those debt collectors, that girl never showed up again either."
Noan suddenly realized sothing and gently nodded, replying, "Thank you. Can I get information about that woman's current residence?"
"This..." The nurse hesitated slightly, as it involved personal information. Sharing it carelessly might cause legal issues.
"Don't worry. I'm her distant relative, and I previously paid her hospital bills. My details should be listed on the paynt records," Noan assured her.
Hearing this, the nurse nodded lightly and imdiately provided Noan with the woman's address and phone number.
Leaving the hospital, Noan hoped deeply that what he had just suspected wasn't true.
He called the number given by the nurse. However, the sa automated ssage indicating the number was unreachable—just like when he'd called Maya—sounded again.
Noan frowned deeply. He imdiately wanted to use his spatial talent to teleport directly to Maya's mother's address.
However, this was not the Chaotic World but the City.
A formidable magical barrier enveloped the entire City. Anyone using magic, no matter how weak or strong, would imdiately attract the attention of the Royal Guards.
Even worse, the Royal Guards had thods of tracking magic users through residual magical energy, similar to tracing fingerprints.
Hence, Noan didn't dare act impulsively.
As for Malrik, he dared to do so only because all information related to Malrik had already been wiped clean, making it impossible for the Governnt or the Empire to track them down in a short ti.
Thus, Noan called a taxi to take him to an apartnt on the city's outskirts.
The building was an old complex, its walls cracked as if about to collapse.
Following the address he received from the hospital, Noan reached a small apartnt.
However, there was already a notice taped on the door:
[Vacant room—contact the apartnt owner directly for a preferential rental price.]
Noan frowned, about to say sothing, when a voice suddenly sounded behind him.
"Are you here to collect debts?"
Noan imdiately turned around upon hearing the voice, seeing a middle-aged woman dressed plainly, holding a small cardboard box.
He frowned slightly and said, "No, I'm a relative of the person living here. I'm trying to find them. Do you know where they've gone?"
"Ah! Do you an Maya and Karen? I thought you were another debt collector," the middle-aged woman said, her expression filled with displeasure and contempt.
"They used to stay here, but debt collectors kept coming, so I kicked them out. Even though they owed six months' rent, not forcing them to pay it was already a big favour," she added, irritated.
Hearing this, Noan quickly realized that this woman was likely the owner of this old apartnt complex.
However, sothing was wrong with her words.
When he'd left before, he'd clearly given Maya quite a lot of money—so why had she still owed six months of rent?
And what had Maya and her mother done that would cause so many debt collectors to harass them constantly?
"Excuse , could you explain in more detail?" Noan asked, frowning deeply.
"Forget it! Don't ask any further if you…"
"I can pay their six months of rent right now," Noan interrupted imdiately, knowing exactly what the woman wanted.
"That… Ah! Actually, I only know a little bit…" the woman sighed, then began to recount everything she knew.
…
After leaving the old apartnt building, Noan's heart grew even heavier with worry for Maya.
According to the apartnt owner, Maya's mother, Karen, was addicted to gambling—and, naturally, burdened them with massive debts.
Maya's salary had always been agre, making it impossible to cover Karen's debts.
Four months ago, Karen was diagnosed with early-stage kidney failure, requiring significant dical treatnt expenses.
Maya, already unable to manage their debts, was now forced to shoulder additional dical costs, leading her to take on multiple part-ti jobs beyond her main one.
However, about a month ago, Maya suddenly received a lot of money. Rumour had it she'd won the lottery, allowing her to repay debts and partially admit Karen to a better hospital.
Of course, Noan knew exactly where that money had co from—it was the amount he'd given Maya before leaving.
Upon learning this, Karen's creditors repeatedly demanded repaynt, and Maya bore the brunt of it.
Ultimately, three weeks ago—just one week after Noan had entered the Chaotic World—Karen suddenly disappeared.
As for Maya's whereabouts, even the apartnt owner didn't clearly know.
"Maya… I hope you're still safe," Noan whispered to himself.
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